This invention relates to an oxygen tank holder for use with wheelchairs and, more particularly, to an oxygen tank holder of the type described which is of a suitable fabric material so as to be collapsible and which is supported by the wheelchair handle supports and the bottom frame of the chair.
Patients suffering from respiratory ailments are often wheelchair bound for mobility purposes and must have oxygen readily available. It is thus imperative that an oxygen tank be coupled to the wheelchair so as to be moveable therewith.
The present inventor is aware of the following prior art of interest: U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,648 (U.S. Class 297/188) issued to Steichen on Jul. 22, 1980; U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,903 (U.S. Class 280/289) issued to Bowermaster on Mar. 26, 1985; U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,420 (U.S. Class 224/275) issued to Kulic on Sep. 29, 1987; U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,206 (U.S. Class 280/289) issued to Pryor on Feb. 14, 1984; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,344 (U.S. Class 297/189) issued to Baumann on Jul. 20, 1976.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,213,648 relates to a wheelchair having a rigid support frame for supporting an oxygen tank thereon. The support frame includes a holding device having a hollow cylinder with an open top end and a bottom closed end. The cylinder includes a mounting bracket for releasably attaching the cylinder to the spaced upwardly extending pins on the wheelchair frame conventionally used to mount detachable foot rests.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,903 relates to a device for detachably coupling a wheelchair oxygen tank cart to a wheelchair such that the cart and the chair are transportable together as a unit without the need of a separate operator for the cart.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,420 relates to a device for detachably coupling a rigid oxygen tank carrier to a wheelchair, wherein the device fits between the downwardly directed support arms of the chair with the carrier being made in different lengths, depending on the size of the chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,431,206 teaches an accessory carrier for oxygen bottles, intravenous containers and other medical accessories and to this extent includes a lower vertically extending post for detachable attachment to the back of the wheelchair so as to permit folding of the chair and further including an upper elongated vertical post for supporting additional accessories.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,970,344 teaches an oxygen tank holding device for ready attachment to a wheelchair. The device is collapsible to the extent that it includes a tank receiving basket and a pair of struts detachably supported on the wheelchair and pivotally connected to the sides of the basket. Flexible cable means are provided to maintain the basket in a vertical position when the device is in an operative position on the wheelchair.
The device of the present invention features a fabric pouch for holding an oxygen tank, and which pouch is strapped at its top and bottom to the back of a wheelchair. Accordingly, the present invention differs structurally from the prior art as aforenoted.